$15m Venture Capital for ICT Development planned by Federal Government

The Federal Government Tuesday disclosed plans to raise $15 million to assist the country secure the much-needed seed capital to promote growth and job creation in the information communication technology sector (ICT).

This, the government said, was intended to boost the sector whose growth rate was currently below an average of 30 per cent per annum.

Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Omobolaji Johnson, told State House correspondents shortly after presenting the ministry’s performance under the 2012 budget to President Goodluck Jonathan at the President Villa, Abuja that despite government’s efforts to develop the sector, Nigeria at 60 per cent, remained the lowest in Africa in terms of mobile penetration.

She attributed the situation to poor level of infrastructure, adding that more work was needed to bring it at par with other countries in the continent.

Johnson who said that the fund would be launched soon, declined to give an actual date.

The venture capital fund being set up for the ICT industry is to be anchored by the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), which is expected to commit $3.6 million (N500 million) to the project.

The federal government, the minister said also aimed at raising $15 million while the private sector, globally and locally would raise an additional $11.4 million.

“The $15 million will be managed by independent fund managers who would work with the ICT incubation team to identify projects or initiatives that we believe are great ideas that will be commercially successful. We will use those venture capital funds to fund them because there is no collateral. We are taking a risk”

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